Flights resume after BA strike

Thousands of passengers were stranded at Heathrow

British Airways flights between Scotland and London Heathrow have resumed after a walkout by staff.

The first shuttle flights for more than 24 hours left Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen Airports on Sunday morning.

A spokesman for the company said all flights between Scotland and London should now operate as normal.

However, passengers who were left stranded during the unofficial industrial action could face a wait of up to 48 hours before they can be accommodated on BA flights.

Ticket and baggage handling staff at Terminal One at Heathrow Airport walked out on Friday.

Scheduled flights

About 2,000 passengers hoping to travel between Scotland and London were stranded overnight.

A continuation of the strike action saw BA cancel its domestic and European services in and out of Terminal One on Saturday.

The grounding all 36 scheduled flights to and from Scotland affected more than 4,000 passengers.

Staff returned to work on Saturday afternoon, but BA's Scottish spokesman Denny Macgee said it would be some time before everyone affected would be able to make it on to a flight.

We are beginning to get back to normal but it will take a day or so before the backlog is worked through Denny Macgee BS spokesman

"The first flights out today have all left within minutes of the scheduled time and the intention is that the schedule will run normally today," he said on Sunday.

"People who have confirmed seats on an aircraft today should turn up as normal.

"People whose flights were disrupted and who have not been re-booked on a flight today should phone ahead before turning up so that they are not disappointed."

Those passengers have been urged to call the BA helpline on 0800 727 800 or its reservation line on 0870 850 9850.

Mr Maghee said it was likely that most of the flights on Sunday were already fully booked.

That meant it could be a few days before people whose flights were cancelled were able to complete their journeys.

Flights were resumed on Sunday

He said: "We are beginning to get back to normal but it will take a day or so before the backlog is worked through."

BA promised to rebook flights, with other airlines if necessary, or provide refunds to passengers affected by cancellations.

The company apologised for any inconvenience caused by the walk-outs over changes in working practices.

The workers were protesting against a new swipe card entry system, called Automated Time Recording, which allows managers to monitor their working hours.

It is understood staff are worried that the system, due to be introduced on Tuesday, could lead to staff being sent home during quiet periods.

BA denied this, and said swipe cards had already been in use in some parts of its Heathrow operations for three years.